Horrible Use of Anonymous Quote

Chris Moody makes a good point on Twitter. Why is Politico giving a senior Obama administration official for this quote.

Asked whether the president believes the late night host is funny, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday: "Sure. He does."

Bob Woodward using Mark Felt as an anonymous source during the Watergate scandal is understandable. Felt was a whistle-blower serving in the FBI. President Richard Nixon would have sought to ruin Felt if he found out Felt's identity. What political risk is this senior Obama official concerned about by stating that Obama finds Leno funny?

The Bush administration used the media by being quoting anonymously to further false information and political payback at Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame. The White of the past two administrations are using the media anonymously to pump garbage stories. President Obama doesn't want to talk publicly about drone strikes. Obama has no problem having his staff anonymously tell The New York Times how awesome drone strikes are.

If the media got administration officials on-record they would be less likely to lie if their names are attached to the quotes. For instance: if an Obama official can't publicly say that the President finds Jay Leno funny then chances are Obama doesn't watch Leno. No one under the age of 65 years-old finds Jay Leno amusing.